Ties
by December
Summary: Family...we all define it differently. But, how would you react if you suddenly found family you didn't know you had? And that family was very different than what you expected? And what is more important? Loyalty or family?
1. Constructed Ties

Camera flashes and shouted question filled the air in front of O'Hare International airport. Reporters jostled each other, trying to get their questions answered…or at least to make eye contact with the object of their avid attention.

"Ms. Carlyle! Ms. Carlyle, is it true that –"

"Ms. Carlyle! Some critics say that – "

"Ms. Carlyle! Ms. Carlyle!"

"One at a time!" laughed the musical voice of Ms. Lita Ann Carlyle. Since the breeze chose that exact moment to blow her hair into her face, the young woman had to toss her brown hair over her shoulder before she could continue. "I can't not answer your questions if I can't make them out!" she pointed out.

Her quip, a humorous to her reputation of revealing frustratingly little to the press, did make many of the reporters smile briefly. A few even laughed, but they were not distracted for long. Everyone outside the airport knew that they would only get the answer to one question. The question was whose question?

In the end, it was the local reporter that beat everyone out. Recovering half a second before anyone else, she went right for the jugular, "Ms. Carlyle, it has been said that you've never forgiven the Japanese or the country of Japan for the loss of your sister. What does this trip to Japan really mean for you?"

That question took some of the famous sparkle out of the young actress' eyes. Lita Ann turned to the reporter and looked at her for a few minutes, not answering. Then she quietly answered, "My manager would like me to say it is for the movie shoot that will get me that Academy Award. But honestly, it's for closure. Just closure."

And with this, the young actress was gently ushered to the door of the airport and the press was told that there would be no more questions as there was an international flight to catch.

Laughter surrounded the fourteen year old as she sat with her closest friends in a room in a Shinto temple in Tokyo. She was so glad she had her friends, even when Rei and Usagi's fights were a little hard on the ears, as they usually were.

Makoto Kino smiled sadly. She still remembered that time when she didn't remember the others or her duty as a senshi. It was a time of being alone again. A time on the outside looking in. A time when she keenly felt the loss of her parents.

But she had her friends back now. Her other family. She took a moment to look around the room. Ami sat in the far corner, her nose in what looked like a chemistry book. Ami was the smart and practical one; in many ways, she was almost like an older sister, although they were all the same age. A ways away from Ami, closer to Makoto herself, sat Minako, the newest member of the family. She also had her nose in reading material, but it looked more like a fashion magazine. The bubbly blonde had been trying to show them sometime earlier, but between her enthusiastic, if hurried and dizty, conversation and Makoto's arrival with snacks, no one had really quite caught her point. Amazingly, in her senshi form, she was a clear and committed commander.

At the other end of the table, both reaching for the last cookie, sat Rei and Usagi. Rei was…the hot head of the group, but she was probably also the most spiritual. Maybe being so aware spiritual necessitated that one was emotional and pushy, though she'd doubt Rei would appreciate that musing on Makoto's part, much less agree with her. Usagi, on the other hand, while just as emotional as Rei, was her polar opposite in other ways. And not just in coloring, although blonde hair compared with black hair with a purple tint were pretty opposite. While Rei had a grace that was clearly a part of her training as a Shinto priestess, Usagi was clumsy most of the time. While Rei could be strident, Usagi was usually sweet, if a little whiny. And while Rei seemed to be able to fend for herself and reach out to no one, Usagi seemed to need protecting and tended to reach out to everyone…at least to more people than Rei did, although Usagi did have some selfish tendencies as well. It was Usagi's ability to reach beyond herself that allowed her to befriend Makoto after all, although it probably helped that Makoto had saved her from some bullies first. Regardless, Makoto felt the need to play big sister and protect and befriend Usagi in return. 

Returning to the topic of family in her head, Makoto realized that her family did go beyond her friends here. And, to be fair, she should also throw in the two talking cats who sat in another corner of the room, deep in conversation. Sure, her family didn't fit the going definition, but it did a lot of the things a family was supposed to do, the teen figured. It gave her a support network, an outlet, and a purpose. People to cook for; something to live for. 

Yet, even with all of this, Makoto did still wonder at times what life would have been like if she had a biological family. That is, if she hadn't lost her parents. From what little she remembered of her parents' extended family, her father was alone in the world. Her mother did mention having a younger sister, however-

"Mako-chan!" a familiar high-pitched whining voice broke into the brown-haired teen's consciousness. That and the tugging at her left hand.

"Whoa! Calm down. What is it, Usagi-chan?"

"She," the wailing blonde pointed to her former table mate, "ate the last of your amazing cookies and she wouldn't even share with me!"

"That's because you ate five already, odango-baka!" Rei immediately responded, glaring at the still wailing blonde.

"Rei-chan, why are you so mean to me!" was the loud, ear-jarring response.

"Usagi-chan," Makoto interrupted, hoping to avoid another Rei versus Usagi argument, "next time, I'll make a batch just for you," she promised rashly.

"Really?" Usagi squealed, quickly changing moods from whiny to excited. The blonde gave Makoto a big hug. "Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you!"

Rei snorted. "As if she isn't enough of a pig already!"

"Rei-chan! –"

Makoto sighed. So, her promise of extra cooking hadn't stopped the argument that the rest of the room was hoping to avoid. But, in the end, it was okay, the teen decided. She smiled. This was her family, complete with all of its faults.

Chapter 1: Strong Ties

Nothing disrupts traffic like the arrival of pop idol. If that pop idol also happens to be American, it means the American press is involved…and bedlam usually ensues. Such was the case in the arrival of the Golden Globe and Emmy a ward winning actress at the Tokyo airport; American reporters and camera crews were swarming like flies, running the natives off. Anything to get their questions answered and set up their shots. Without a doubt, the thirty-two year old Lita Ann Carlyle was news.

And, as soon as she stepped out into the sunshine, the shouting started. "Ms. Carlyle! Ms. Carlyle!"

"Pay up," said the woman to the immediate right of the American actress. Valerie Ann Jefferson, known as Valerie Ann or VA to her friends and family, was known to many of the reporters gathered as the personal assistant to Lita Ann Carlyle. Most of those reporters also knew that VA was Lita Ann's first cousin. While some mistakenly thought that Valerie Ann only kept her job because of the family connection, those who covered Ms. Carlyle's career regularly knew that Valerie Ann was amazingly competent. And, as a few of those reporters would point out, one wouldn't realize that Valerie Ann and Lita Ann were related at first glance, as Valerie Ann was clearly brown-skinned and often sported neat African braids. Lita Ann, who was much paler, tended to wear her brown hair loose and looked more like she had just stepped out of a Pantene commercial.

'Ah, man!" the young man directly behind Lita Ann could be heard objecting as he handed Valerie Ann twenty dollars. "How did you know they'd be out here? We just landed, damnit!' he continued. Although blocked from sight at the moment because of where Lita Ann stood, most of the press knew the voice belonged to Lita Ann's assistant manager Patrick Spencer. Rumor had it that among Lita Ann's personal circle he was referred to as "the baby", due to his young age of twenty-eight. Although he was younger than the rest of Lita Ann's inner circle, the red-headed Spencer was a quick study and quickly becoming a force to be reckoned with in Hollywood.

Over the din of the reporter's shouts, the man to the immediate left of Lita Ann objected to the media barrage. "Come on, guys! She just got off the plane! We'll release a statement this afternoon." Silent up to that point only because he finishing up a conversation with Lita Ann herself, Lita Ann's manager, Marcos Mitsuru O'Reilly was ready to use his voice and influence to get the press to back off his client.

Although a lot of attention had been focused on Marcos O'Reilly due to his undeniable influence on the amazing career of runaway star Lita Ann Carlyle, no one was really sure what ethnicity he was. He had darker skin, but was naturally blond. He had almond shaped eyes, but a flat nose. And he spoke English, Spanish, and Japenese fluently, never claiming one as "first language". One Hollywood insider once called him the "walking rainbow coalition". Unlike his ethnic heritage, the power he commanded in Hollywood circles was clear.

"It's okay, Marcos. These reporters are just trying to make a living," spoke the voice made famous by a surprise cult hit musical at end the end of the 1980s. Lita Ann Carlyle, the voice behind Therese in Flipside, spoke soothingly to her manager. Then in a louder voice she said. "Okay, if y'all will stop pushing the natives, I'll consent to three questions now."

While that did stop some of the shoving, it didn't lessen the shouting. Over the various attempts to shower with question, Lita Ann first recognized the CNN reporter.

"Ms. Carlyle," the young man began, "It is well known that you're an active and avid Democrat. What do you think of Arkansas governor Clinton as a possible Democratic nominee for president?"

"Well, I will admit to being sad that Jerry Brown is not a viable option anymore. I think part of me will always be a Brown girl," a few of the reporters and Valerie Ann laughed at the unintentional pun that related back to the actress' race. "But, who knows?" the actress continued, "This Clinton guy may surprise us all. The jury's still out, in my opinion."

'Ms. Carlyle," the ambitious MTV reporter spoke up before the other reporters could get their questions in, "Flipside was a dark and sardonic musical. The movie that you are here to shoot, based on the industry buzz, is an epic drama. Do you think that your experiences with Flipside and the one season critically acclaimed show Years, has prepared you for such a different project and for co-starring opposite Tom Cruise?"

Lita Ann laughed. "Now that is a question that is guaranteed to upset my manager," she said as she patted Marcos' arm. "But to answer your question, I think I'm up to the challenge. Remember, I was still in my twenties when I did both Flipside and Years. I'm a little older now and can handle deeper roles. Besides, I'd hate to be type-cast. You may get MTV props for a movie like Flipside, but you don't get an Academy Award for it."

Many of the reporters nodded at this insight. Everyone who knew anything about the Academy knew that Flipside was a little too much for them.

"Okay, okay. One more question,' the famous voice continued. 'Yes, you in the back by the taxis."

"Ms. Carlyle," the reporter began, "There are rumors that the Japanese are unhappy about the film and about they are portrayed within it. Given their reporter tendency to prefer sameness over difference and your statements regarding the loss of your sister, are you worried about your reception in this country?"

That question caused the actress to pause for a moment. Then she said, "At some point, every actor or actress faces a hostile crowd. I'm not the first, I won't be the last. It could be worse. For example, I here Madonna is advocating to play the role of Evita should a movie ever be made. Let's just say, I expect the Japanese to be kinder to me that the Argentine will be to her." The actress took and deep breath and gave the reporters a sunny smile. "Not, if you'll excuse us. I think we've blocked enough traffic for today. Marcos will release a statement later this afternoon."

After that the four pressed through the gathered reporters until they reached the car awaiting them, and, ignoring the continued shouts of "Ms. Carlyle," drove away.

In another part of the city, a teenager sat down on her couch and sighed. "It's not that I don't love them," Makoto Kino thought to herself, "it's just that they can be so exhausting sometimes." The tall brunette then chastised herself for the thought. Those four had been there for her in so many ways; they had saved her life a few times, too. She herself had even died to protect Usagi. But listening to Rei and Usagi go at it…well, nothing real was perfect after all. She just wished she was as good at tuning them out as Ami seemed to be. Of course, Ami had had more practice at it.

Reflecting on her friends, Makoto turned on her TV. For the first minutes she mindlessly flipped through the stations until something caught her eye. A woman, not much taller hand Makoto herself, was standing in front of the airport, surrounded by cameras. What was so arresting about the woman is that she had the same colored hair as Makoto. In fact, the woman looked so much like what Makoto saw in the mirror every morning that Makoto briefly wondered if she would look something like that woman in 10 years. Although the scene was being carried on a Japanese station, the woman was speaking in English. Curiosity make Makoto at least attempt to follow what the woman was saying; the slight accent the woman had made it a little harder to follow than Makoto would have liked, but she understood somewhat what was going on. Makoto did process the actress' musical voice, which, ironically, reminded Makoto of her mother. But, after the five minute segment was over, Makoto didn't really dwell on it. She did have dinner to prepare, after all.

- to be continued - 


	2. Missing Ties

chapter 2: Missing Ties Most people wouldn't call Lita Ann Carlyle difficult. Her mother often said that was because "those people don't know my baby," but Lita Ann had a reputation among co-workers about moving through things with Virginia charm…except in four areas. 

First, Lita Ann was a little obsessive about her hair. Her hairdresser was on speed dial and was often flown out to location or across country to do Lita Ann's hair. She wouldn't let anyone else but Stacye touch her hair and she'd throw a fit if anyone tried to override that.

Second, Lita Ann insisted that any hotel accommodation allowed for her personal assistant, manager, and assistant manager to be housed as close to her as possible, usually in the same suite but in separate bedrooms. She once walked out of a four star hotel and went to stay at a Best Western two streets over because the four star hotel wouldn't give in to her demands.

Third, Lita Ann had a tendency to cut people out of her life if she felt wounded by them. She stopped speaking to difficult co-workers, sent back presents from people who had ever snubbed her, and didn't acknowledge her own aunt for years because the woman told her that Flipside was a trashy movie. Many that worked with Lita Ann would say that if she was your friend, you had a loyal advocate on your side, but wound her once and you were kicked out of her life, no matter who you were.

The fourth was that Lita Ann was extremely particular about breakfast. She insisted that her entire entourage eat it, and she insisted on having the same thing every morning, regardless of where they were. And that something was oatmeal with butter, milk, and sugar along with hot tea to drink. Sometimes she wanted green tea; other times she wanted the very British Prince of Wales tea with cream. Lita Ann did not do variety - at least not at breakfast.

So, it was because of the last of these quirks that Patrick was up, dressed in khakis and a green polo, moving around the suite thirty minutes before everyone else, ordering breakfast and preparing for the start of the day. After he placed the breakfast order, he consulted his to do list for the day. The young man sighed. He may have the title of "assistant manager" but in reality, he was Marcos' errand boy. The advantages to this arrangement were that he was being mentored by one of the best managers in the business and that he was a part of the inner circle of Lita Ann. Very rarely did the young man explore the joy he felt about the latter.

As breakfast arrived, Patrick's suitemates emerged from their rooms. Valerie Ann emerged first, although how she managed to move in those three inch spiked heels still amazed Patrick to this day. In typical V.A. fashion, she was dressed in a swishing short skirt and matching top, clearly from that year's Ready to Wear collection. She went right for the coffee that was being unloaded. This wasn't because she was tired; Patrick knew for a fact that she was awake. Every morning before joining the group it was Valerie Ann's job to call the family, i.e. her mother and Lita Ann's mother. The reason Valerie Ann went for the coffee was to help her mentally begin the day…and because Lita Ann's mother, Cynthia Jefferson Carlyle, could be difficult.

Soon after Valerie Ann emerged, Marcos walked into the main sitting room, still in a blue sweat suit. Mr. O'Reilly started his days with exercise, alternating between Yoga and T'ai Chi. He said that it helped to center him. Patrick just marveled how anyone could stay centered in the craziness that was Hollywood, but Marcos probably was the closest to it. As Marcos sat down, he began to eat his traditional Japanese breakfast. In his research before arriving, Patrick was amazed at how hard it was to find hotels that would offer traditional Japanese breakfasts…  
and also have oatmeal and tea on hand. The young man just shook his head, as he handed Valerie Ann the tray of pastries that he was blocking.

Finally, Lita Ann herself emerged. Knowing that she wouldn't have to face press or fellow actors before breakfast that day, she was dressed in black leggings and a Hypercolor shirt with jellies on her feet. "Because some mornings you just really miss the eighties," she said the first time Patrick asked her about a similar outfit. Rolling her eyes at her cousin, she quietly took her seat at the table where Patrick had set her oatmeal. 

Like the rest of the people in the suite, Lita had a morning routine, morning prayer and devotion, followed by vocal exercises. Lita Ann once told Patrick the reason for the routine. "Ever since Flipside," the actress had shared in a slight self deprecating voice, "I've gotten up every morning and thanked God for my voice and then used my voice. It's like I'm afraid that it will be taken away from me like other things have been if I'm not always properly grateful." The actress had laughed nervously after that. Patrick had always meant to ask what she meant by that statement, but there had never been an opportunity.

It was Lita Ann's voice that brought Patrick back to the present. "I don't see how you can eat that in the morning," Lita Ann said in amazement her cousin as the actress began to eat her oatmeal. "I mean, it's loaded with sugar and the apple filling is oozing out of it."

"What of it?" Valerie Ann shrugged as she bit into an apple Danish. "Mmmm! You know you want one," the personal assistant continued as she waved the pastry back and forth.

"Not at this hour," Lita Ann insisted. "I mean, that's just sugar and fat! And you are so going to crash later."

Valerie Ann rolled her eyes as she finished off the sweet breakfast food. "You still want one," she said after she swallowed.

Lita Ann stuck her tongue out at her.

"Before this degenerates into a family disagreement," Marcos broke in, "why don't we let Patrick review the schedule for the day?"

Lita Ann nodded and then smiled at Patrick. "Shoot," she said as she reached for the sugar.

"Well," the young man began as he looked down at his notes, "first, there has been another script change-"

"Again?" Valerie Ann interrupted. "One would think that by the time they started shooting they would know what the hell they wanted to shoot!"

Lita Ann sighed. "Do we have the new script yet? How severe are the changes?"

"We do have a new script," Patrick said as he handed Lita Ann a package in a brown envelope. "As I just received it this morning, I don't know how severe the changes are yet. But there is a meeting to talk about the changes with the principle actors this afternoon, which is a slight change in your schedule."

The actress sighed, "And I was so looking forward to the afternoon off."

"Do you have today's schedule then?" Valerie Ann asked. "I need to make sure that I don't have to juggle around a lot of stuff this week."

"Yes, of course," Patrick said as he handed out red folders. "This morning the costume designer wants to do a final fitting for some of the costumes for Lita Ann. She'll be coming here at ten. Stacye should land at eleven so that she can talk to the costuming department about what will have to be done to Lita Ann's hair-"

"Oh, thank God!" Lita Ann interrupted. "I thought they were going to push that studio hack on my hair."

Valerie Ann laughed. "After that scene during the Flipside shooting, I don't think anyone will make the mistake of having anyone but Stacye attempt to touch your hair."

Marcos cleared his throat. "Ladies, why don't we let Mr. Spencer finish, hmm?"

After the two women nodded and quieted, Patrick continued. "After the fitting, there is an interview with a VJ from MTV, and no, I don't know which one. As part of that interview, they are going to ask you about your favorite songs and music videos, so be ready." Seeing the actress nod, Patrick took a deep breath. "At two is the script change meeting that I mentioned earlier. The director wants everyone to have read through the script at least once before that meeting – and yes, I know that is unreasonable. Don't shoot the messenger."

"I'll get on that," Valerie Ann interrupted. "I'll talk to the director's people this morning."

"After the script meeting, you'll get the shooting schedule. It's going to be lighter this week, but for the rest of the month, it is going to be pretty hectic. Most of the shooting is going to be in the Azabu Juuban, which is part of Tokyo, but they do have the cities of Kyoto and Osaka as possible locations as well.

"The rest of the day is pretty much yours. There is a request from Cruise's people that you meet him for dinner tonight so you can begin to talk about your roles and working together. But that is just a request. If you are too tired-"

Lita Ann shook her head. "Thank you for looking out for me Patrick, but I have to be a professional, even if and when I don't feel well. Tell Cruise's people that I look forward to seeing Mr. Cruise for dinner and let me know when and where I should meet him."

"Well, then, that's it from my end." Patrick said as he stopped. Turning to look at the actress, he asked, "So what is the task for this location shoot?"

"Task?" Lita Ann asked

"Come on, LA. Don't mess with the boy. You know you send one or both of us off on some 'Mission Impossible' task for every location. When we were in Switzerland for the first part of the Flipside shoot, we had to find you the perfect hot chocolate."

"When we were in England, you sent us to Richmond to take pictures. And we had to find out where to get the best fish and chips and where to have high tea." Patrick added.

"When we were in Los Angeles you did sent Spencer and Ms. Jefferson to find a good soul food restaurant," Marcos chimed in.

"And when we were in Montreal –"

"Okay, okay. I get the point. I do tend to ask for a few errands. I would do them myself, but-"

Patrick raised his hand to stop the apologizing actress. "It's okay, Lita Ann. I don't mind; it's my job after all."

"You don't mind," Valerie Ann muttered under her breath.

"But, is there any errand that you would like us to run?" Patrick asked gently.

The actress took a deep breath, as if readying herself for something. "Actually, there is something that I would like you do. And you'll need Valerie to help you."

"Wait, how did I get pulled into it this time?' Valerie Ann objected.

"Normally, I wouldn't ask this of anyone. I'd do it myself. But…to be honest, I'm a little scared. That and I don't know where to start," the actress finished quietly as she looked down at her hands in her lap.

"What are you asking of us, Lita?" Patrick asked softly.

"I want you to find someone for me," the actress answered after a pause. Taking a deep breath, she looked up at Patrick and said, "I want you to find Melissa Sakura Carlyle Kino."

"What!" Valerie Ann erupted, jumping up from the counter on which she had been sitting. "You want us to look for your sister! Your sister who chose some foreigner over the family? Your sister who hasn't contacted any of us in years? The sister that physically pushed you out of the way when you tried to get her to at least talk to your mother before she left! That sister!" the young woman continued, her voice rising at every question until she was shouting.

"Yes," Lita Ann admitted as she looked down. After a few seconds pause, her head shot up and she turned to look at her much darker cousin, as if recalling something important. "And you can't tell my mother about this. Not until I talk to Melissa," Lita Ann pleaded.

"Like I would," Valerie Ann snorted. "I like my aunt Cynthia. I wouldn't inflict that kind of pain on her for kicks."

"I didn't ask for your approval, Valerie Ann. I just asked you to help Patrick," was Lita Ann's quiet reply.

"So where do you propose we start? Japan is a little bigger than Tokyo, and we don't even know for sure if she's still in this country," Patrick interrupted, trying to head off a fight between the cousins.

"Actually, you can start here," Lita Ann said as she pulled a folded envelope out the pocket of her leggings.

"A sixteen year old letter is not going to help," Valerie Ann sneered and she rolled her eyes and crossed her arms.

Lita Ann nodded, "I agree. But a two year old one might help."

"Two year old?" Patrick asked after shocked silence met Lita Ann's statement.

"Yes. Apparently Years was distributed internationally and was shown in Japan," the actress shrugged, as if to slough off the irony. "My sister saw it and wrote me. I wrote back…  
but I never received a reply. I don't know why." The young woman sighed. "I just want to know what happened to her and why she cut off contact or why she tried to contact me again. She's my big sister," the actress continued. "If there is a chance for me to see her again…I just have to try."

The actress' quiet plea brought silence to the room. After a few minutes, Valerie Ann seem to grudgingly relent, "Well, if I'm going to waste time helping 'The Baby' find that woman, I better get to a lot of stuff done now. Beep me if you need me." And with that, the young woman sailed out the door, anger and annoyance clearly conveyed in the force with which her heels hit the floor with each step.

"And I have a few calls to make. I'm also having some scripts sent here for you to look over, Lita Ann. We do have to find out what your next project will be, after all." Marcos said as he stood to return to his room.

"I guess I better get reading on this new script. Not exactly how I planned to spend my morning, but oh well." Lita Ann rose from her chair, slowly opening the brown package. Walking toward the chairs by the window, she turned around to look at Patrick. "Thank you," she said as smiled. "Thank you for agreeing to look for my sister. It means a lot to me."

And, as Patrick looked down at the letter in his hands, he thought of the all the things that soft smile and quiet thanks had gotten him into over the years.

As the alarm rang at six forty-five that morning, Makoto moaned as she reached to cut it off. Almost 400 mornings of that alarm and it was still so hard to get up. It wasn't that quarter after six was such an early time to get out of bed; in fact, two years ago she would be up ten minutes earlier. The hard part about waking to an alarm was the reminder that she could no longer awaken to her mother.

Unchanged since she was little, Makoto could clearly remember how she'd been awakened every school day. At about six thirty-five, her mother would come into her room and open her curtains. As Makoto would begin to stir in her bed, she'd hear her mother start out with a very formal, "Good morning, daughter." Of course the effect would be ruined, as her mother would promptly jump on her bed, give her a hug, and ask, "How's my little LiLi-chan this morning?" After that, her mother would talk to her about any number of things for about fifteen minutes; then, it would be seven and the two of them would do their morning exercises together. Occasionally, her father would join them, but in general he tended to leave the woman to themselves in the morning. 

As for the nickname, her mother had decided that Makoto needed a nickname pretty early on in life. "Nicknames are important in my family," she said. "They revealed all kinds of things about people. Sometimes a nickname reflected hobbies or character traits. Sometimes they represented ties to other people. Sometimes they were easier forms of difficult names. But," her mother would insist, "nicknames always meant love in my family. And I love you to bits, so you need one."

Makoto's nickname came from her second name. Personally, she always thought it was a little odd that her mother insisted on giving her two names. She knew her mother had two names as a child, but her mother rarely talked about her other name. Her mother tried to explain it to her once, but the designations of "first" and "middle" never made much sense to Makoto. Nevertheless, Makoto was given two names and LiLi-chan was a cuter version of her second name. At first, Makoto's mother tried calling her just plain LiLi, but soon after that, she quickly added the chan. A few years ago Makoto finally asked her about the nickname change one morning. After a pause, "I know…knew a LiLi. I named you for her, actually. She was a very special person, too. So, she deserves to keep LiLi all for her own. Besides," her mother added with a smile, "Connotation issues in Japanese aside, you look more like a LiLi-chan anyway."

Makoto smiled to herself as she thought about what Usagi and the others called her. She found Mako-chan rather sweet, and, because of what her mother said about nicknames, she took the label of Mako-chan as a sign of acceptance by her "new family," although she never shared those thoughts with them. She was also a little happy that no one else was calling her LiLi-chan. Somehow that name seemed something that was only reserved for her mother.

As it was nearing seven am, Makoto climbed out of her bed and turned on her radio. "This morning," she thought to herself, "I'm going to make through these exercises without crying."

In thinking about it, her mother would probably be horrified by Makoto's tears over the morning ritual, if only because her mother seemed to be endlessly intrigued by it. "You know," she once said in the middle of morning exercises one Saturday morning, "One day, people from the United States are going to marvel at how healthy people in this country are, and they are going to think it comes from soy products or the sushi." Then she laughed.

Later that morning, as Makoto put on a familiar brown uniform, she reflected on how mornings were the hardest. And this week they would be harder than they usually were. The anniversary of her parents' death was the coming Saturday. Of course, she had made plans to go to their grave alone. It was an intensely personal time for her. This year it had briefly crossed her mind to tell the other senshi about it, but she decided against it. Except for Rei, they weren't even really aware that her parents were dead; and, after the whole thing with Usagi and Mamoru and with aliens and alien trees, she wasn't sure she wanted to burden Ami, Mina, or Usagi with her own problems. And, for some reason, she didn't want to tell Rei what Saturday was an anniversary of.

Thankful that she didn't have cleaning duties at school that morning, Makoto began toward the kitchen. She paused for a second to think about the tube in the bathroom, but she decided against it. She wasn't strong enough to wear the lipstick this morning.

As Patrick stood on the other side of the door, he took a big fortifying breath, hoping that it would give him the courage to open the door to the suite. It didn't, but it was worth a try.

He just didn't how he was going to tell Lita Ann. How does one share that kind of news, anyway?

Valerie Ann was no help. She almost seemed happy about the way things turned out. "This way Melissa can't hurt Lita anymore," she shrugged. When Patrick mentioned that such a sentiment was kind of cruel, Valerie practically growled, "First, you never met Melissa! Even as a child, she – but that's not the point. Look, Lita Ann Carlyle is practically MY sister. We grew up together. You weren't there to see how Melissa's leaving devastated Lita and you weren't there to pick up the pieces. So excuse me if I don't morn the selfish witch." Valerie Ann also refused to tell Lita Ann what they found. "Just tell her that we couldn't find her or that the witch turned us away. Why tell her what we found? At best, she'll just shrug it off; at worse…well, she doesn't need that stress right now."

Privately, Patrick disagreed with Valerie Ann's view of the situation. Admittedly, out of her entire entourage and circle of friends, he knew Lita Ann Carlyle the shortest amount of time. In fact, he and Marcos were the only two in Lita's inner circle who had never met Melissa Sakura Carlyle before she left the family sixteen years ago. Yet, at points, he would see Lita hug the stuffed animal that she told him her sister gave her when she was six. Or, for every special occasion she would where those special rose earrings. She told him one night, after he asked her about her lucky earrings, "I've had these since my ears were pierced when I was nine. Melissa, my sister, got a pair just like them. Even though she was a much more sophisticated fifteen, she wore them when I wore mine. She called them 'sista earrings'. It's a little silly, I guess, but when I wear them, it's like she's there with me, smiling in the wings." Then the actress had laughed and quickly changed the subject. Valerie Ann may have known Lita Ann longer, but Patrick had a feeling that Lita was more honest with him about how she felt about her sister.

So that left Patrick standing outside their suite door trying to figure out how to share news that would devastate a young actress, one who was already under stress from working on the movie. Regardless of Valerie Ann's low regard for Melissa Sakura Carlyle Kino, Patrick knew Lita Ann Carlyle loved her sister very much. Even without the happy memories and even though Lita hadn't seen her sister in sixteen years, Melissa was her older sister. And the Carlyle/Jefferson clan was very big on family; he knew, he'd been introduced around when her was hired and he had been dragged to family reunions ever since.

"Better to get this over with," the young man muttered as he reached for the door handle.

Before he could touch the door, however, it swung open and a member of the MTV crew stepped. "Oh, Mr. Spencer," the young woman said quietly when she noticed him on the other side of the door, "They are almost finished the taping in there. You can go ahead in."

Nodding to the young woman, Patrick entered the suite. Across the room, in the chair and loveseat by the window, Lita Ann was in conversation with Bell Bellamy, with Patrick personally thought was a strange VJ choice. As it was, he was just in time to hear Lita Ann finish up an answer.

"I really do think 'Take On Me' was a visionary video. But then, so was 'Thiller'. Honestly, the music video genre is just beginning and things will come down the pike over the next decade that will utterly amaze us."

"So, Lita Ann, I have to ask. With your voice, have you ever considered the music biz?"

A gale of laughter came from the actress. "Absolutely not! The ability to carry a tune has nothing to do with the ability to succeed in music. Besides, I've noticed the way music is going with this new 'Seattle Sound'. That's not my style and I'm not nearly that angsty or troubled. I'd be too 'bubble gum pop' for the industry."

That answer seemed to be the end of the interview, as Bellamy signed off and the crews began to dismantle the lights and remove the microphones. Ever the polite actress, Lita Ann was in the process of thanking Mr. Bellamy as Patrick walked over. As he reached her side, she paused to smile at him, then she returned her attention to the press in room. Ten minutes later, the room had completely cleared out and it was just the two of them.

Lita Ann sighed as she flopped down on the couch. "Why did they have to send Bellamy? I mean, he's a nice guy and all, but I suddenly felt that I wasn't being 'R&B' enough in my answers. That, and I was waiting for him to compare me with breakout star Toni Braxton. I think MTV sent him to interview her, too." After shaking her head, she patted the couch and turned to Patrick, "Sit down. What's up? And please don't tell me they've changed the script again."

"No, they haven't changed the script again," Patrick said as he sat down. He sighed as he looked at the happy actress. He really wished he had different news. "Although I think I'd rather have to tell you about another script change," he muttered.

"It's worse that a script change? Okay, Patrick, now you're scaring me," Lita Ann laughed as she turned to look at her assistant manager. After looking at him for a few seconds, Lita Ann began to speak in a quieter voice. "Wait. You're serious. Patrick, what-?" the actress began to ask as she reached for his hand.

Taking both of the actress' hands in his, the young man took a deep breath. "Lita, it's about your sister-"

- to be Continued - 


	3. Blood Ties

chapter 3: Blood Ties

As the young woman walked up the steps of the small temple, she wondered if this would ever become easy. Not so much lugging the bucket, brush, kappi maki, and tempura (among other things), but the going to her parents grave. She missed them.

Makoto Kino stopped in front of the marker designating her parents resting place. "Good afternoon, mother. Father. It's your LiLi-chan." The teen stopped after that, too choked up to continue. 

To be honest, even if she wasn't so moved, she wouldn't know what else to say. She said most of it last month, when she had come for her mother's birthday. Besides coming to wish her mother a happy birthday, she had come to ask her parents' permission to be a sailor senshi. Admittedly it was an odd thing to ask. If her parents had been alive, she probably would have kept her senshi life a secret. But their deaths had changed all of that; without having them present everyday, their approval on life changing choices became more important, not less.

At times she wondered how her parents would have reacted if she had been able to ask them about being a senshi when they were alive. She guessed her father would have smiled and said that it made sense, given her name. How her mother would have reacted, Makoto wasn't sure. She could see her mother as proud, worried, forbidding, amused, or all four at once. Kino Sakura was a complex study in contradictions.

Shaking herself from her private musing, she began the task of cleaning the grave. Although it was, in some ways, a solemn and sad task for her, at times she couldn't help but smile thinking about her parents would react to this activity. Her father would, of course, expect the cleaning as a sign of respect. It would have surprised and amused her mother. First, since she wasn't raised in Japan, Makoto's mother would have assumed such a task, if completed at all, would have been left to the temple owners. Second, as the least neat of the Kino clan, Kino Sakura would have laughed at the realization that the monument to her death was cleaner than her purse or her bedroom had ever been while she was alive. 

So lost in her thoughts, Makoto didn't realize that she was no longer alone until something bumped into her left side and a voice said in English, "Oh! Excuse me. I didn't see you. Are you okay?"

Makoto looked up to see a tall woman, who seemed out of place among the grave markers. She was clearly a foreigner, which was demonstrated not only by her language of choice but also by her attire. Dressed entirely in black, from her low heels to her knee-length skirt and linen blouse, she also wore black sunglasses and a black scarf around her hair, which was tied under her chin. In her right hand she was holding a bouquet of flowers, a combination of yellow, brown, orange, and green, wrapped in black tissue paper. A small black purse swung from her left shoulder. In all of her trips to visit her parents since their deaths she had never anyone dressed as this woman was.

Confused by this oddly dressed tourist's presence at the small temple, Makoto slowly answered, "I am fine. May I help you?"

"Oh, no. I'm okay," the older woman said as she removed her sunglasses to reveal sad brown eyes. Turning back to look at the grave in front of them, she continued quietly. "Although, 'okay' may not be the right word. Well, I found what I was looking for, anyway."

As the strange woman continued to look at her parents grave, Makoto became even more confused. She had never met this woman before, nor seen her at the small funeral service for her parents. Who was this woman and what did she think she found? Makoto opened her mouth to ask her, and then closed it.

All in all, it was a rather odd situation. Makoto wanted to know what was going on, but she didn't want to be rude. She was in front of her parents, after all. And, if she couldn't have their hugs, she'd have their approval. So, what was the polite way to handle this situation? At times like this she really wished that Kino Sakura could answer her questions when she asked.

"Am I in your way if I stay here?" the woman asked Makoto. "I won't be long. I just," the woman sighed. "I just wish I could speak in complete sentences," the woman ended in a mutter.

Not sure what to do, Makoto said that the woman wasn't in the way. And, to be honest, she wasn't physically in the way. Emotionally…well, Makoto didn't like sharing this moment with a perfect stranger.

Returning to cleaning, she and the stranger stayed there in silence for a few minutes. Then, suddenly, the stranger seemed to choke back a sob. In a sad, quiet voice, the woman said, "Lissa, all you had to do was answer my letter. I would have been on the next plane over, Momma, Valerie Ann, and my career be damned!"

"Lissa?" Makoto found herself asking.

The strange woman blinked, as if startled. Then, smiling sadly at Makoto, she gestured to the grave. "Lissa, short for Melissa. Melissa Sakura Carlyle Kino, my older sister." After a pause, the woman added quietly, "I guess I should say she was my older sister. It's going to be a little difficult remembering to use the past tense."

The woman's response floored Makoto. The odd reference to past tense aside, Makoto was mentally wading through all that statement had releaved. At first she didn't want to believe it. Sure, her mother had mentioned a sister and her family in passing, but, as Makoto had never met them, she assumed that they were all dead. How dare a family member show up now! Where was this woman when Makoto buried her parents? When her father was rushed to the hospital when she was nine? During her mother's difficult pregnancy?

But, along with the anger, Makoto felt something like happiness or relief. Just the idea that she still had family out there, that she wasn't alone was nice. Of course, she wasn't really alone, even without this strange woman. She had Usagi-chan, Ami-chan, Rei-chan, Mina-chan. She had other friends. Sure, she didn't have a boyfriend at the moment, but she did have one once. But the idea that she had biological family out there, something she'd only wondered about…

Finally, Makoto was curious. Who was this woman? Her mother didn't talk much about her family. Sakura almost never mentioned her own mother, and only mentioned her sister slightly more. Sure, there was also the occasional "LiLi" story, although her mother was never really clear on who LiLi was, but Makoto didn't know much of anything about her mother's family. Then, today of all days, her mother's family appears.

In the mix of feeling she had, however, the anger trumped everything. Makoto refused to say anything disgraceful in front of her parents, but she saw no reason to explain anything to this woman about who she actually was.

The object of her ire took that moment to sigh. Dropping her flowers to the ground, the woman squatted so that she was closer to the ground. "I don't know what I thought coming here would do. I mean, Momma always says that funerals and graves were more for the living than the dead, but I really don't think Lissa would care that I came. But I don't want to go back just yet."

"You know," the woman said more to herself than to Makoto, "I always thought I'd have time…that we'd have time to fix everything. Even when she pushed me out of the way so that she could run off with --, I never thought it was a permanent split." The woman shook head. "When I was a little girl, I'd always trail after her when I could. They used to say, 'there go Lissa and LiLi.' Aunt Lafayette used to call us the 'double ls,' because one of us would always follow the other." Tears ran down the woman's cheeks. "I can't follow her now, can I?"

Silence fell between to the two women again. While the foreigner seemed too emotional to speak, Makoto didn't know what to say. This was the LiLi she was named for? Her mother's little sister? But the fourteen year old was in for even more of a shock.

"Argh! I hate feeling useless!" the foreigner – LiLi – suddenly shouted. Jumping up, she ripped the scarf off of her head and threw it down on the ground. Hair the same color as Makoto's came tumbling down to the older woman's shoulders. Pacing back and forth the woman looked upset. Finally, after pacing for a few seconds, she turned to Makoto and asked, "Can I help you? With cleaning the grave and everything? I don't mean to be a bother, but I just want to do something."

Makoto nodded. Seeing how this woman was family, she didn't really think she could refuse. Besides, one some level she thought her mother would appreciate it.

"Just tell me what to do," the woman said, and, for the next ten minutes, Makoto guided her through cleaning the Kino gravesite.

When they were almost finished, the woman suddenly giggled. Makoto turned to stare at her, not sure how to take that reaction. Something of her annoyance must have shown on her face, because the woman – LiLi – held up her hands and said, "I'm sorry. I was just thinking about how Melissa would have reacted to this. She'd laugh her head off if she could see me now.

"Growing up, neither one of us was very neat, although she was neater than I was. Our mother, however, was a neat freak and was always on us to clean. I can still hear her voice saying, 'Being black means being better, and just because you both are "high yellow" enough to pass doesn't mean things will be easier for you. Now, clean your room like you have some home training!'

"Melissa and I both rebelled in our own way. I would act like I couldn't see the mess right in front of me. Melissa, on the other hand, would try to keep the junkiest handbag imaginable. I think she was just looking for an excuse to have to dump it out over the coffee table in the den, just to annoy Momma."

Makoto smiled after hearing the explanation. It was interesting to hear why her mother seemed to love the fact that her purse was often a disaster zone. While Makoto didn't understand everything LiLi had said, especially the "high yellow" reference, but she followed enough of the story to appreciate it.

"You know, you remind me a little of her," LiLi said out of the blue.

"I remind you of her?" Makoto asked, confused.

"Yes, you remind me a little of my sister, Melissa. Or at least, Melissa at fourteen," LiLi laughed. "While my sister could be the proper lady when forced, she'd rather be out beating the boys in basketball or track and field. She also wanted to learn to ice skate, but the only ice rink near us was for whites only. I think that near broke her heart. But you remind me of her," LiLi insisted, "Especially with that annoyed looked you had on your face earlier. As a younger sister I did a lot to earn that look from Lissa from time to time." 

LiLi smiled sadly at Makoto as she rose. Glancing at her watch, she said, "I have to leave now. But thank you for letting me help." Pointing to the flowers stilling laying off to the side, she asked, "Is there a place to put them? I kinda wanted to leave them here."

Makoto nodded as she reached for the flowers. As she stared at the two very different kinds of flowers in the arrangement, LiLi explained, "The big flower is a Sunflower. They were Melissa's favorite. The skinny, strange shaped flower is a Bird of Paradise. They're my favorite. I thought by arranging them to together I'd convey, I don't know, something. I think the only thing they convey is that I can afford to drop a ton of yen on flowers." LiLi shook her head. "But thanks again for today. And for everything."

After she finished speaking, LiLi turned and began to walk away. Makoto listened as her heels clicked on the walkway and later on the steps as she left. After the clicks faded away into nothingness, Makoto turned to face grave. "I'm sorry, mother," she whispered softly. "I know I probably should have introduced myself, but I didn't know what to do! I was angry and happy and angry and confused and angry." Makoto sighed. Then she smiled. "She did bring flowers, though. And the sunflowers are really pretty."

Standing up to dust herself off, the teen arranged the flowers in the flower holder. Then she left homemade kappi maki for her mother and tempura for her father on the grave. It would have been the dinner she would have made for them if they had returned from their trip to the United States. To this day, Makoto still wondered why they went, but she made it a point not to dwell on it too much. Thinking about the plane crash was never a happy train of thought.

- to be continued - 


	4. Tangled Ties

Chapter 4: Tangled Ties

"Just what are you accusing me of!" an annoyed feminine voice demanded.

"I'm accusing you of denying Lita her family!" an equally angry masculine voice fired back.

Fights were rare occurrences in the Carlyle camp, so rare that some in the industry commented on how unnaturally peaceful Lita Ann Carlyle's management and support team was. These fights were rare not because people didn't disagree; Lita and her cousin constantly disagreed about family issues. Marcos and Patrick also had so many disagreements about how to handle the press in relation to Lita Ann in the first year alone that they were practically tradition. What made fights rare was that there was always a calming voice, allowing compromises to be reached. Lita always joked that if they ever fought about something that meant a lot to everyone involved in the fight, it would be extremely nasty.

And that is exactly what was happening in this case. Patrick and Valerie both felt extremely strongly about their point of view. Both felt the other was wrong and/or insensitive. Both felt they had Lita's best interest at heart. And no one felt calm.

The blow up started over a little piece of paper. As Valerie Ann grabbed her purse on her way out to run errands, Patrick noticed a piece of paper that had fallen out of her bag. Bending down to pick it up, he was about to hand it back to Valerie when he noticed that it was the note from that official from the Japanese equivalent of the US Census Bureau. Valerie Ann took the note when they both visited the institution about a week ago, and she was the one who announced that Melissa Sakura Carlyle Kino was dead. At the time, Patrick thought that was all that was in the note. But, with the note in his hand, he noticed more writing. Scanning the note, one thing jumped out at him.

"Children, 1 daughter. Kino Makoto L."

That one line had Patrick asking Valerie Ann about the note. The PA acknowledged that she knew about the daughter, but insisted that it didn't matter. Patrick insisted that they tell Lita Ann. Valerie Ann vehemently objected. And the conversation just became more and more heated from there.

"How dare you-" Valerie Ann began to counter before Patrick interrupted.

"Look, all I know is that you knew Lita Ann had a niece. A niece that would probably mean a lot more to her, now that her sister is dead. I know that you didn't want to tell her about her sister. I know that you hid from everyone, even me, the existence of her niece. And, it seems that the only reason you can give for your deceit is your decade old jealously over the relationship between Lita and Melissa!"

"You know nothing about our family, you paid labor ingrate!" Valerie Ann shot back.

Patrick was prepared to fire back when a raised voice in the hallway stopped them.

"I'm not saying it, Marcos! I'm not! It's insulting!"

At that moment the suite door opened and Marcos could be heard saying, "I understand your annoyance about the line, but –"

"I know I should have caught it earlier," the actress said as she breezed into the room waving a script, "but I honestly thought they'd be doing make-up and a whole bunch of other things to make the alien empire look alien. And I thought it was going to be acted by a diverse group of people. But, with all of the empire rolls being taken by Japanese or other Asian actors –"

"A recent change, Lita Ann," Marcos insisted.

"Recent or not, I cannot refer to them as the 'slanty-eyed people'! It's insulting. It's racist!" She turned to look at her manager. "I grew up in the South in the 60s and 70s. I help desegregate schools. I had any number of racial slurs screamed at me. And I'm not returning the favor to any group. I'm not saying it!"

"I'll look into having it changed, but" Marcos cautioned, "they may not change it."

"I'm still not saying it. I'm not," that actress insisted. Now completely in the room, she noticed her assistant manager and her personal assistant. "Patrick? Valerie Ann? Is there a problem?"

"No!"

"Yes!"

The actress laughed. "Well, which is it? Is there a problem or isn't there?"

"The only problem has been your lack of focus as you have been dodging the press," Valerie Ann scolded.

Lita Ann sighed as she walked further into the room. "I know you weren't happy about me visiting my sister's grave last Saturday. Dodging the press was necessary; I really didn't want my grief twisted to sell more copies of The National Enquirer. But lack of focus? This whole movie shoot has been a comedy of errors!"

"That's not the problem. Lita, Valerie Ann didn't tell us everything about your sister." Patrick insisted.

That stopped the actress in her tracks. Turning to her cousin, she asked softly. "What?"

"It's nothing important! Patrick and I are just having a disagreement about how big a deal to make about –"

Lita Ann raised her hand to stop her cousin. In the same quiet voice, she asked again. "What does Patrick mean Valerie Ann?"

After a few minutes of silence, Patrick finally said. "Your sister had a daughter."

"Had a daughter?" Lita Ann whirled around to talk to her assistant manager. "I-" the woman paused for a second, "I lost a niece, too?"

At her sad look and clear misinterpretation, Patrick hastened to correct himself, "Maybe 'had' was the wrong word. Has a daughter. She has a daughter who is still alive and, apparently, being cared for by a guardian of some sort."

"I have a niece?" Lita asked quietly, wonder and confusion apparent in her voice.

"Yes. Her name is Makoto Kino. She was born in 1978, which makes her about 14 now."

"About fourteen. Oh…My…God," Lita Ann said slowly as her eyes widened.

"What? What is it!" Patrick asked urgently, worried by the sudden look of shock on his friend and employer's face.

"That girl at the gravesite. The one with hair the same shade as mine. She reminded me a little of Lissa. She had to be my niece. Who else could she be?" Lita mused to herself. "But why…Patrick! Can you get my niece's address?" she asked.

Finally feeling like he could do something to help the actress deal with pain of the loss of her sister, Patrick quickly walked toward the phone in the sitting room, "Already on it."

"Lita Ann Carlyle," Valerie Ann began to object, "You are taping a movie! You need to be getting into character and focusing on playing Ladi Myre. You don't have time to run around –"

"Valerie Ann, this is something I have to do for me…and for her. This girl is a Carlyle. She's also my niece. She has a right to know about her mother…and a right to get to know her aunt." Lita Ann stared down her cousin. "I'm going to see her. You can't stop me."

Another Tuesday evening and Makoto was at home, making dinner. But, for all of her thinking it was just another Tuesday, she realized that it wasn't. Life hadn't been completely the same since that Saturday afternoon. She could still hear LiLi in her head, "Melissa Sakura Carlyle Kino, my older sister." Makoto had family, biological family. Family at which she was still angry, but family nonetheless. And family she didn't know how to find.

Ever since the strange LiLi walked away, Makoto had been second guessing her own behavior. It was not that she necessarily did anything wrong, per se. She was angry and she wasn't going to be rude in front of her parents. At the same time, however, Makoto watched her aunt walk away without…without letting LiLi know who she was or finding out how to find her aunt again. Or even why LiLi was suddenly in this district of Tokyo. Makoto didn't even know where her aunt lived.

Makoto didn't sleep easily that Saturday night. In fact, at about one Sunday morning, she gave up on sleep and got up and did her homework. Then she baked brownies, which, of course, made her cry because her mother had taught her how to make them. She spent most of Sunday replaying that Saturday afternoon in her head, and thinking about all the times her mother mentioned her sister or LiLi.

One story stood out in Makoto's head. On Makoto's ninth birthday, her mother had given her the rose earrings she now wore. Before she gave her the earrings, she told her about them. 

"I got these earrings when I was fifteen," Kino Sakura had said. "Sure, most teens wouldn't have been caught dead in these earrings, but I wore then because LiLi picked them out.

"It was LiLi's ninth birthday and she was getting her ears pierced. She talked about it like she wasn't afraid, but I knew better. She may have acted like nothing was wrong, but her eyes were scared. So I said I'd go with her. 

"She braved the experience, trying so hard not to cry in front of me. To make her feel better, I told her that she could pick out whatever earrings she wanted and I'd buy a pair exactly like them, too. She looked up to me so much, and that statement was the first thing to make her smile all day."

At that point Kino Sakura had laughed. "At that point, admittedly, I thought she'd pick something 'groovy'. So I was horrified when she picked sedate little roses, but I promised. And even after she gave me an out, I insisted." At that point Makoto's mother had smiled. "I had no idea then how much these earrings would me to me. As for LiLi…I'm sure she probably threw those earrings away before she turned seventeen."

Because her mother had looked so sad after that last statement and because the earrings clearly meant a lot to her, Makoto happily took them. It was difficult to describe what the earrings meant to Makoto now, especially since she had lost her parents. In a way, they were family heirlooms. They also reminded Makoto of her mother.

Realizing now that LiLi was her aunt put a whole different spin on the story. Makoto was an only child herself, so she didn't quite understand the protective feeling that older siblings had for younger. Based on what she had seen and heard from the senshi and others, she figured she had older sister like feelings for Usagi, but that wasn't the same thing as having a younger sister. Yet, using everything she had seen and heard about the relationship between siblings, the earring story took on a whole new meaning. Her mother was just trying to look out for her little sister and formed another bond with her that she hadn't expected. And, considering something had kept them apart for all of Makoto's life, those earrings must have meant the world to her mother.

Thinking about this made Makoto wish that she had talked to her aunt more, found some kind of way to contact her. But it also made her angry again. What could have happened to make her aunt not talk to her mother in at least fourteen years? They were family! Family was important. And, based on her behavior at the grave, LiLi cared about Kino Sakura.

Going back and forth over her feelings about her aunt all Sunday made Makoto a little out of it Monday morning, which the others noticed. Well, at least she thought the others noticed. Ami-chan had given her some strange looks throughout the day. Usagi-chan had asked if she was okay after Makoto had handed the blonde her whole lunch without a word, not that it stopped Usagi from consuming said lunch. Makoto wasn't sure what Mina-chan thought, but she was clearly surprised when Makoto turned down the invitation to go to the arcade after school. Admittedly, Makoto hadn't seen Rei-chan, but she was pretty sure that Rei had been told about her strange behavior by now.

Today at school, Makoto wasn't much better. The plus for her was that Usagi was distracted by plans she had with Mamoru later that day and Ami was distracted by Chemistry. Mina didn't push, and for that Makoto was grateful. Regardless, Makoto knew that she had to address these feelings soon. If she kept this up for the entire week her friends would worry.

Shaking her head, Makoto tried to return her attention to her dinner plans. Before she got very far, however, there was a knock at her door. Figuring it was Ami, who was probably worried about her, Makoto walked to her door. Opening the door, the young woman was staring into the face of a familiar stranger.

"Hi. Makoto Kino, isn't it? I'm sorry I didn't introduce myself on Saturday. My name is Lita Carlyle. I think that makes me your aunt."

Standing on the other side of the door, having delivered her line, Lita Ann winced inwardly. 'That was smooth,' she thought sarcastically to herself. One would think that after years of acting, she could act like she had it together. She snorted to herself; maybe that was the real reason she hadn't been nominated for an Academy Award yet.

The girl staring back at her was clearly the same girl from the gravesite on Saturday. Looking at her now, Lita was amazed at how she didn't automatically know this girl was family upon seeing her. Makoto had so much of the Carlyle genes that she could pass as Lita's own daughter. They had the same color hair. They were about the same height, Lita being only slightly taller. And Makoto wore a pair of rose earrings that matched the ones Lita's hair hid.

Based on the shock on the girl's face, it was clear she had no idea what to make of Lita. 'Maybe the black and white psychedelic sundress wasn't the best idea,' the actress thought to herself as she looked at the dress her sister had made for her almost two decades ago. Nervously, she pulled her black tote bag more securely onto her shoulder. 'I need to stop trying to make statements with clothing and gifts.'

Of course, Lita also worried that part of the shock was a rejection of sorts. Living in Japan, Lita doubted that her sister ever talked about her racial heritage, even to her own daughter. She wouldn't accuse Melissa of passing so much as just being in denial about that part of her life. And, if she never discussed that part of her life with her daughter, her daughter probably had typical Japanese views about African-  
Americans. And, from the little Lita had heard and seen, especially given what her cousin Dria was going through with her mother-in-law, Lita was sure those views were not good ones.

"May I come in?" the actress finally asked, realizing that she might end up standing in the hall all day if she didn't ask.

The teen – Makoto – blinked a few times and then she nodded. Lita smiled and walked through the door. Before her niece could say anything else and before she walked any farther, Lita reached in her bag and pulled out a brand new pair of slippers. She had bought them at the last sorority convention she had been able to attend. Taking off her Nine West heels, Lita put on her slippers. At her niece's continued stare, Lita felt compelled to add, "I talked to my manager before I came over about customs I should know about. I wanted to cause as little offense as possible. Are these alright?"

Makoto nodded again. Lita sighed internally. Either her niece was a naturally quiet person, or she wasn't going to talk the entire time Lita was there. That could be a problem. Well, if she asked yes and no questions, she might be able to at least spend some time with the girl. If nothing else, she could leave her niece with the things she thought she'd be able to give to her sister. "May I sit down?" the actress again.

The teen nodded again and showed Lita to the couch. As Makoto went back to shut the door, Lita took the tote bag off of her shoulder and set it next to her on the floor. By the time she had placed her heels back in the tote bag, her niece had joined her on the couch. 'Well, if I'm doing most of the talking, I better start with something,' the actress thought to herself.

"I'm sure you have questions," Lita offered.

The young woman nodded. It seemed like she wrestled with herself for a few minutes before asking, "Why didn't you contact my mother in over fourteen years?"

"Wow," the woman who was her aunt said after a pause, "You don't pull your punches, do you?"

That statement puzzled Makoto a bit. She hadn't hit her aunt or tried to; she had no idea what the woman meant. Luckily, her aunt's follow-up question gave her a clue. "Couldn't we start with something easier?"

Makoto shook her head. It may be rude to push, but before she asked anything else, she had to know why this aunt had never contacted her mother before.

"Okay," the woman relented as she pushed her hair over her shoulder. An earring identical to the ones Makoto wore was visible briefly before her aunt's hair fell back into place. "It's not a pretty story, but you asked for it."

The woman stood and walked a few steps away from the couch. "My sister fell in love at twenty-one. That, in and of itself, wasn't necessarily a bad thing. She had just finished Northwestern and the family was so proud of her. She had met this guy while there and she had brought him home to meet the family.

"But, there was a culture clash of sorts. He was Japanese and a non-Christian besides," the actress sighed and turned to look at Makoto. "I'm not sure how cultural differences are worked out here, but in my country, in my family, it was a racial and a religious clash. And nothing is more important to Jeffersons, and to a degree, Carlyles, that race and religion.

"Our mother was a Jefferson before she married and she raised a huge stink. Father, of course, was missing in action at the time. The other Carlyles, my father's family, stayed out of the fight…although they enjoyed gossiping about it. The Jeffersons, my mother's family, got right into the middle of the fight. It got nasty very quickly.

"To this day, I really don't know what the tipping point was. All I can remember are the shouts and then Melissa storming out with her boyfriend, vowing never to come back. I tried to stop my sister, asking, begging that she come in and talk to Momma. She refused and pushed me out of the way. It was the last time I saw her."

Confused, Makoto asked, "But why didn't you try to contact my mother later?"

"I was sixteen when Melissa left. I was a dependent, living under my parents' roof, in the middle of a nasty family blow-up. How could I choose between the sister I adored and the mother who toiled and slaved to take care of me and my sister? I loved my sister. I still love my sister. I love my mother. I was young, scared, and asked to choose sides in a battle I didn't start! I-"

The woman sighed. "Maybe this was mistake. I'm sure if Melissa were still alive, she would have kicked me out by now. I'm sorry to have imposed."

Picking up her tote back, her aunt walked to the door. As she was reaching for the handle, Makoto finally found her voice. "No, wait!"

As the older woman turned around, Makoto said, "I do not think my mother would have asked you to leave."

"Why not?"

"Because," the teen began, "Well, because she named me after you, for one."

That seemed to shock her aunt. As her aunt stared at her, Makoto lowered her eyes to the couch. A few second later, she felt the couch sink as her aunt sat down again. "She…she named you after me?"

Makoto nodded. "When I was younger, she would call me LiLi-chan. She said she knew another LiLi who was important to her. But my other name is also Lita."

"Other name?" Lita asked

"My mother had two names when she was a child, so she felt the need to give me two as well. She tried to explain it to me once, but I never quite understood it."

"Oh!" Lita finally exclaimed. "Your middle name is Lita? Your mother really did name you after me?"

Makoto nodded, surprised to see what looked like tears in her aunt's eyes. "I'm sorry. I don't mean to cry," the older woman said, "but I'm just really touched. I'm not sure what significance names mean in Japanese culture, but in our family, names are really important," her aunt explained as she blinked away tears.

"My mother's family has a tradition of naming people after family members, which can be especially confusing at times. And my mother, of course, tried to do that to the best of her ability. She named her oldest Melissa, after her husband's aunt. I'm not sure where Sakura came from, but neither family was all that happy about that name. Uncle Monty once said, 'Why couldn't you just name her Cherry Blossom? At least that's in English!'

"As for my name, well, there are several different stories of where my mother got Lita from. One was she wanted to honor her four best friends, but she didn't know how. So she took the first letter of their names, Lauren, Ingrid, Tanya, and Amy, and put them together in a name. Some said that she was working on a crossword puzzled and a misspelled clue that referred to actress Rita Hayworth was the last thing she saw before she went into labor. Other say Lita was the name of the nurse who delivered me. As for Ann, my 'other name,'" Lita smiled, "I'm not sure if it is for my mother's sister Ann or her brother Andrew. Andrew's daughter also has the middle name of Ann. We don't know who she's named for either.

"Huh," her aunt seemed to conclude to herself, "It seems as if my sister kept up the tradition…down to the nickname." Lita smiled sadly. "And she beat me to it! I always said I would name my first daughter Melissa." After a brief pause, her eyes twinkled slightly, "I'll just name my firstborn after you."

Lita smiled to herself as she saw the shock that filtered across her niece's face. Regardless of cultural background, it seems the honor of having someone named after you was equally stunning. And Makoto was a nice, if unusual name…for an American at least. She'd have to get to work on finding a first name that would work with it. She'd also have to find a husband and have a daughter to use the name, but she wasn't going to deal with those details at the moment.

As the pause continued passed the younger Kino's shock, Lita realized that she'd have to find another topic. Were the Japanese naturally this quiet? After growing up in around Jeffersons, how did her sister manage to stand it?

Pushing away the sadness that came with thinking about the sister she would never see alive, Lita bestowed a sunny smile or her niece/stranger. "Well?"

"Well?" the younger version of the actress repeated in confusion.

"Well, aren't you going to show me around? I mean, the living room does look quaint, but I think, as an aunt, I'm supposed to make sure your living situation is good. It is what many of my aunts would have done," Lita smiled sardonically. "Although, your mother would probably tell me that Aunt Lafayette and Aunt Harriet are not good examples of how to behave with family."

Several hours later, full emotionally and literally, Lita left her niece's apartment. If someone had asked her how the rest of the evening went, she would have loved to say it was smooth sailing and that her niece was her new friend, but Lita Ann tried to keep lying, even to herself, down to a minimum. That night was a start however.

But, again, if she were more honest with herself, there were several times when she thought coming was a mistake. Clearly, her niece had no idea what to make of her. For that reason, Lita Ann left the race card alone. Better to let the girl get used to the idea of an aunt before Lita dropped in her lap that Makoto was half African-American. 'Which brings up an interesting question about her citizenship,' Lita mused to herself. 

Yet two things the actress noticed over the course of the night bothered her slightly. The first was the clear lack of guardian presence. Maybe Japan was different from the United States, but Makoto appeared to live by herself, something that wouldn't have been allowed in the States. The young lady may be a mature fourteen, but she was still fourteen. She shouldn't be alone. And, if this guardian was getting any kind of government help for Makoto and not actually looking after her, then there was an even bigger problem. 

The second thing actually came to Lita's attention when she toured Makoto's apartment. In the teen's bedroom, on her nightstand was a beautiful pen of some sort and a pink calculator. To be fair, Lita would concede that she probably shouldn't have touched anything, even if pink and green were her personal favorite colors. What the actress didn't expect was the strong reaction of her niece. In the beginning, she would have just thought them pretty trinkets, but now Lita had to wonder what they really were. If nothing else, she was going to look into what that strange shaped number four meant. And she might actually find time to research it herself; she wasn't really sure if she could trust her cousin on this issue anymore.

The actress sighed. "One thing at a time. One thing at a time. Melissa would say that rushing only caused trouble, anyway." Shaking her head, the actress realized how much she really missed her sister. But her sister wasn't completely gone; Melissa had left part of herself behind in Makoto.

- to be continued -

Surprise, surprise. It's back. This is a draft of chapter four. I've had this draft for months, tryijng to flesh out parts,  
but I'm stuck. I figured I would go ahead and post it so that fans/  
readers could provide some feedback. What was missing from this chapter? What disappointed you? What did you love? If you need more room than the review function will give you, email me at for reading.  
December 


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